Mirage of the Corrupter
by Ihsan997
Summary: The last old god could only be chained down for so long. For the adventurers of the Uldum Accord, the horrific visions of N'zoth may be even worse than the coming of the Corrupter itself. An open story based on the lived experience of players coping with unknown unknowns. Linear but disjointed narrative building up to 8.3 and associated quests.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: this story will include material exclusive to FF, exclusive to my posts on the WoW EU forums, and material which appears on both. Warcraft, its world, and the game are all copyrighted to Blizzard; Ral'rush is my original character. I won't post material written by another player unless they give written consent, and they will be credited as such. Enjoy.**

* * *

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

I've been here in Uldum for over a week. It is really hot in the dessert. Things not be too boring…I met someone I never expected to see again. Very random place and time, but I guess that be how it is in real life instead of stories. I'm gonna go eat some desert.

* * *

[Another entry, autumn year 33]

I camped with two other people on guard duty for the last few nights. One of them be human, from Westfall. Family of farmers, just like mine, so we can talk without arguing about politics or anything else.

Loa, why do humans smell so bad? No matter how nice they be, I feel like I can't breathe when they get close. He be big for a human, not like Kul Tiran, but big enough that if he stands near me, his scalp be close to my nose. That, and also every time he lifts his arms, I feel nauseous. I be a troll who lives in a swamp; it takes a lot to make me nauseous.

Then I thought: maybe I smell bad to him too? Do humans think trolls smell bad? Maybe all races smell equally bad, but people just get used to the smell of their own race.

* * *

[Last journal entry of that section, autumn year 33]

I was on guard duty last Tuesday…I only get one day off a week, which is fine. I came here to help. I was on night shift, me and three of those local cat centaur things. Toll-fears, they call themselves. Good people. Our guard tower be across the delta from their big city. Isolated. Not near a trade road. No disturbances, which be disturbing in and of itself. I get jumpy when there be no action, but the locals seemed fine. We were usually fine.

Past midnight, me and one of the toll-fears got interrupted in our card game by gibberish from outside. I jumped up cause I was jumpy, so I got out there first to see if some traveler got dehydrated or another usual happening like that. On the flattened road, beneath a torch, this…thing was stumbling. Like a drunk, but I didn't smell alcohol. It looked like a human but not Wastewander. The thing danced up to me when my buddy finally got her behind out there and tried to touch me, but not with its arm.

All over its body, it had cuts without blood. It was opened all over, but not undead…bloodless wounds usually mean aged undead, but this thing looked like holes had opened up naturally. Then I saw what was reaching for me: comin out of a hole in its stomach was a purple tentacle. Everywhere, in most of the holes, these feelers like a starfish were fightin to get out and poke me. The human's face wasn't scary, but it was weird. The toll-fear hissed in, well, fear when she got close enough to see what was babbling. The thing smiled at me like it wanted me to touch it too, and I saw a third eyelid opening on its forehead.

Well, what was I supposed to do? I don't care how brave you think you are; you see crazy crap like that, at night, outside a city, and you gonna get scared. Rexxar himself woulda got scared. I had a stick in my hand since I'd forgotten my mace back in the tower, but the thing was - at one time - just a little Menethil human, so it died as soon as I hit it against its temple. Dropped like a rock and stopped babbling, and my buddy comes over with her torch meowing and hissing when it changes back to normal. All those tentacles, the mutated parts, they didn't even melt or pull back; they were just gone.

I looked at my card buddy and asked her if she saw it too. She said yeah but started havin a panic attack, saying we'd be punished for killin a traveler. I told her to go wake the others and tell them the human was on drugs; I planted a knife on him, and the others believed our story.

My card buddy hasn't been to work since then. Last I heard, she kept claiming to have back pain and other fake excuses. I don't blame her. Every time I hear a cricket, my shoulders tense up. I hope I'll get over it soon.


	2. Chapter 2

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

Was walkin at the edge of Ramkahen yesterday afternoon. Near some store huts, I heard laughter off-road, behind a line of shrubs which the toll-fears use like sand barriers. I went to see who it was and ended up in a spiny thicket by myself.

One of the date palms was crumblin. Not just dyin, but crumblin into dust. I never learned about plant stuff like by siblings did, but I think it be called…wood rot? We got that back in Dustwallow, but Uldum be so arid; I didn't think that desert palms could rot. Those palms are real beauties…nice, and they drop free snacks, but I touched this one and it the entire trunk broke apart in my hand like a sandcastle. Nature got its way, but for some reason, I felt sad when I crushed that tree trunk.

Still don't know who was runnin around laughin like a kid.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

The humans here, in the south…Uldum, Tanaris…be a lot more complicated than I thought.

One of the toll-fears took me for coffee in a neighborhood for humans in Ramkahen, all of them locals from Kalimdor instead of EK…by the loa, they hate the Wastewander people. Every one of them either be related to or know somebody who was victimized. They be real mad that the sultan or king or whatever of Ramkahen let the Wastewander join the Accord.

Seeing humans hate other humans reminded me of how I feel about other trolls.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

Trouble started when I was off-duty last night. Me and that farmer human from Westfall were with our CO, a toll-fear, at a local tailor to get blankets. A toll-fear kitten runs up and recognizes our CO and says that a visiting warlock lost control of a minion. We all look at each other and sigh in one of those 'duty calls' moments. The kitten leads us into a magic shop with a crowd gathered; our CO dispersed the people while me and the Westie go inside and find this felguard flipping out with some people against the wall.

On instinct, I put it in a headlock to keep it away from whoever else was there. Once I get it to stop bugging out, I see the Westie let out a toll-fear and two other humans, but he forces this Sin'dorei lady to stay inside. Turns out that she'd summoned the felguard with permission from the magic shop owner for some experiment, but then the thing started trippin and holding its head like it had a migraine.

We took the felguard to jail because our CO wanted to question it before having it banished. It stayed quiet in the cell for a few minutes before wigging out again, and it kept on bobbing and down and speaking Eredun until I slapped it around for a bit. Our CO got the idea to bring the warlock in, and she compelled it to sit down and shut up. We asked a few questions to see if it was aware of its surroundings, and it seemed mentally competent but disturbed. We tried to ask it what was wrong, and the felguard literally started to cry.

Demons not be supposed to cry, but this thing was breaking down. Started yelling at us for stopping Sargeras and bringing 'the end of it all.' Kept saying we have no idea, we doomed the universe, we had no clue what was coming, etc. I mean, this felguard was balling its eyes out, down on its knees, like one of us mortals when we lose it all.

Then my CO got a bright idea. He asks the felguard if it meant the void. The question made sense cause I remember back on Argus, killing demons, a lot of them accused us mortals of helping the void lords by opposing Sargeras. Well, as soon as the void is mentioned, the felguard started screaming and holding onto its head again, and I put it in a headlock again to keep it quiet. I didn't realize how deranged the demon was…instead of resisting, it twisted its body around with its head held in my arm and broke its own neck. Just died limp there in my hands. My CO said no harm done and let me and the Westie work a half shift that night to make up for time spent working out of uniform. He stayed behind to question the warlock.

We needed the time off to wrap our heads around what had happened. That talk about the void didn't give me a good feeling. Demons are ritually tortured to make them tougher, and they spent eons destroying whole worlds…that thing wouldn't of had a mental breakdown, to the point of killin itself, unless something was very wrong.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

Normal night out on watch. The air in Uldum gets a little chilly at night. Nothing like the deserts in Desolace, from what I hear. Who knows what it's gonna feel like when winter comes.

Noticed that I never write the actual date on these entries. Maybe I should start. Not much else to do on guard duty.


	3. Chapter 3

[Journal entry, August or autumn or whatever year 33]

Last night, I dreamt of laughter, an orange eyeball, and date palms. The wind blew the fronds and tickled my ears, and I realized I wasn't dreaming anymore. My legs felt tense, and I didn't feel my mattress against my back. Spent a few minutes staring at the trees after I realized I was awake and went back to my bunk.

I never had sleep walking ever. Now I lost a few hours of sleep. Gonna request a transfer to a tent with other personnel in the Accord…I thought that I be lucky to get a tent to myself, but if I be with other people, maybe they can stop me from sleep walking again.

[Journal entry, August year 33]

I got called in by my CO today. I learned a bit about how things work here with the Ramkahen tribe or nation or kingdom or whatever. Apparently, my CO in the Uldum Accord also be a constable or something here in Ramkahen. He can be a part of both. That be different from how things work back in the Horde - if you be a part of a guild or another organization, then you usually can't be an officer in the army. Sometimes you can't even be recruited. The toll-fears have blurry lines between those things. That means that my CO can tell people on the street what to do, but I can only stop people if they mess with my guard post or patrol route.

We encountered that Sin'dorei warlock on the street the other day, near the pottery barns. The one with the felguard who killed itself. It was by accident that she bumped into us, me and that Westfall human (everybody calls him 'Westie' now) and one of the toll-fears called Unekhet. I asked her why she still be here, just out of curiosity, and she got real nervous and laughed like a child. We thought she was acting funny, and I really didn't like that laugh, so me and Unekhet tell her to stay with us while Westie leaves. We didn't tell her that he was leaving to check if we shoulda brought her in or not, on account of her weirdness. Westie comes back and tells her to come with us.

So we get to the bow-lease station, and boy, our CO let us have it. Read us the riot act and explained that we had no more right to bring her in than she had to bring us in cause we were off-duty and outta uniform. It was embarrassing cause we had nothing to say; we screwed up. I guess it be better than being sent away, seeing as how I don't really have a place waiting for me back in the Horde army anymore.

Our CO brings in the Sin'dorei and has us apologize to her, but then she said it was okay cause she had a 'real problem' to deal with. She was all polite like, which made me feel bad again, but she said no harm done. Then she looks at us like she was waiting, so our CO nodded for us to leave. I don't know what was said behind closed doors, but the two of them talked for a long time. We waited in the hallway so long, and we started getting hungry, but we didn't want to leave and lose even more rep with the Accord. Grinding for it was hell in the first place.

The little warlock walks outta the office without looking at us, nervous like before, and we get called back in. Our CO reminds us that what we did was wrong, but says that he wants us to keep an eye on her. He wouldn't say why, and we were too shy to ask by that point. He just said to keep quiet about what we did and make sure that she was okay as much as we could. I guess that was his way of telling us that we were off the hook, but I keep wondering what was said behind closed doors.

[Journal entry, August year 33]

A lion has four limbs, but a toll-fear has six limbs. A lizard has four limbs, but a dragonspawn has six limbs. So a lion is to a toll-fear what a lizard is to a dragonspawn? Then a dragon is to a dragonspawn as a toll-fear is to what? Be there any giant flying cat creatures?

But then a croc has six limbs, and they be different from dragonspawn limbs.

A bat has four limbs, but a dire bat has six limbs. Where do they fit? I be so confused.

[Journal entry, August year 33]

Another nutcase on guard duty last night. Some idiot waltzed up to the tower and started laughing like he was high. Wildhammer dwarf. He didn't even resist when we arrested him, which not be normal for their clanspeople at all. We followed protocol and handed him over to the next shift when our turn was done. He looked normal except for his eyes…the blood vessels in his eyes had this orange hue to them instead of red.

He kept raving about green dust…or, all that be green will be dust, or something like that. Reminded me of that palm tree that crumbled in my hands. Weird.


	4. Chapter 4

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

I woke up again last night. Good thing I be in a communal tent; Westie, that heavy human from Westfall, woke me up when I tried to leave. I was on my feet and nearly fell down when he did. Said I was talking about trees, that I was gonna crush the trees. We had a laugh about it and went back to sleep; I only fell back asleep cause I was so tired. But I kept thinking it…sleep walking even once be weird for me, but twice can't be a coincidence.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

I walked outta town, around the desert, for the first time today. How? I've been stayin here for over a month now, yet I never actually felt the sand between my toes until this morning. A few of the toll-fear kids…kittens? Whatever they be called, they took my out there to explore.

One of the kittens told me that the wind was blowing east, and I was stunned; couldn't even talk. Cause I had no idea which way the wind was blowing. The people out here, they be so close to the land that they can just hold still and know which way the wind be blowing. I've been living in cities and barracks and war camps for so long, I think I be disconnected from the real world.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

That same dream again. An orange eye that never blinks. It not really be a nightmare…not exactly. That eye shows me nothing but kindness. It looks like it be happy to see me, but it feels very wrong. I can very hear whispers, but they be too weak for me to make out, like an old guy sitting too far away tryin to talk to me.

But it wasn't me. I was in the Ramkahen bazaar, and I heard this local toll-fear telling this to a Wastewander human. They were checking out onions or something, and he was describing his dream exactly as I've had it a few times. Sometimes memory get mixed up, but not this time; what he said was what I dreamed too down to every last detail.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

So now I got this new journal.

We all slept well last night, but in the morning, I opened up my old journal and saw that it had been vandalized. The message 'ALL EYES SHALL BE OPENED' was written on a blank page in orange crayon. I told the other guys in the tent, and we decided that filing a report would take a lotta work and would only waste time. We're just gonna keep closer eyes on our stuff. There be one detail I didn't tell any of them before I threw my old journal in the trash, though.

The orange message was in my own handwriting.

I don't know what to make of this.


	5. Chapter 5

[Journal entry, maybe autumn year 33]

My brother answered my letter. Response came in today. Kinda weird cause never had problems, but we don't really talk. He gave me a good answer about the palm trees though. Palms be different from shrooms, but I guess farmin be farmin and he knows a bit about plants.

He agreed that the palm trees near the barracks, in that hillock of whatever, got wood rot, but he didn't believe me about them turning into dust. Figures - I never was any good on the farm, so he won't listen. At least he sent me some salve to use on the trees and shrubs that still got some moisture in them. Sent me a few dried grams of my favorite fungi too, plus salted cat.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

I messed up with the salve. I brought it to that thicket and tried applying it to the plant life that was dyin but not dead yet, but then I started feeling drowsy. I stopped for a few minutes and started applying the salve again, and I almost fell over. I visited an herbalist at the bazaar and she said that there be nothing wrong with the stuff, but when I went back to the thicket, I started to fall asleep again. I must be doing it wrong.

[Journal entry, I think autumn year 33]

Played this board game with local humans in Ramkahen's poor district yesterday. They were surprised to hear that I hate the Farraki more than they do. Then they bring up Sul'thraze, the famous greatsword of the Farraki. Those sand humans, they knew a lot about the outside world: the Farraki got Sul'thraze, the Gurubashi got Zin'rokh, and the Amani got Jin'rokh. The Darkspear got…nothing. My people done nothing. At least those humans were polite enough to disagree.

Wasted an hour at a smithy that evening just watching them work. I got no interest in professions, but I hope most Darkspear don't be like me. I wish we could have nice things.

[Journal entry, autumn year 33]

Action. Finally. Happened last night on patrol. Me and a few normal toll-fears did a walk around and found a scout troop rock toll-fears. They were all supposed to be dead a few years ago. Most of them got away, but we chased down three. They didn't make it for questioning, but we got the corpses to show the boss. I broke my mace beatin those things to death…I need a new weapon. At least I got something to take my mind offa the nightmares.


	6. Chapter 6

I be done…finally. It been months since I heard voices, sleeping or waking. There still be some troubles here in Uldum, but there also be enough volunteers, not like in the beginning. Back then, it was me and a few other foreigners helping out the toll-fears; now there be dozens.

I don't know them, though. Everybody I started with be dead, or gave up, or returned to their homes if they be from here. We did good work, stopping that Black Empire craziness, but there be nothing left for me here. I gotta meeting with one of those magic people who can open portals…I paid a pretty penny, but tomorrow morning, I'm gonna be on the move again. This place has been good, but I knew it wouldn't last.


End file.
